Published plans and annual reports 2020-2021: Ministry of Francophone Affairs

Ministry Overview

Ministry’s vision

As steward of the French Language Services Act and main advisor of the government on Francophone affairs and French language services, the Ministry of Francophone Affairs works with ministries and agencies to ensure that Francophones have access to French language services in designated areas of the province and that the needs and interests of the French-speaking population are taken into account in public policies and programs.

The Ministry also plays a role in facilitating the participation of the Francophone community in government-related initiatives and ensuring that Francophones can contribute fully to the growth and development of the province.

To achieve this, the Ministry:

1. Oversees the application of the French Language Services Act and works with ministries and agencies to ensure that French language services are available in designated areas of the province.
2. Coordinates the implementation of French language services in newly designated areas and makes recommendations with respect to the designation of new areas and agencies under the French Language Services Act.
3. Provides expert advice to ministries and agencies and develops resources to support their efforts in delivering high-quality French language services.
4. Engages with the Francophone community to identify their interests and service needs, and to support initiatives that directly support Franco-Ontarians.
5. Promotes Francophone affairs inside the government and partners with key ministries on policy and program initiatives to foster the participation of the Francophone community.
6. Collaborates with other jurisdictions to establish mutually benefitting partnerships, as well as promotes Ontario’s Francophonie at the national and international levels.

COVID-19 Response

The Ministry of Francophone Affairs played a key role in the government efforts to reach out to Francophones across the province and ensure they have access to and understand instructions and critical information in French on ways to protect their health. Important measures implemented by the government included:

• providing simultaneous French interpretation and French subtitling during the live broadcast of both the daily government press conferences and the daily Chief Medical Officer of Health updates, and
• ensuring that content of the Government’s multi-phased awareness campaigns was fully translated into French and distributed through key Francophone print, radio and TV outlets.

To support the Francophone community, the Ministry provided organizations that received funding under the 2019-2020 Francophone Community Grants Program with added flexibility to enable them more time to complete their projects.

The Ministry also established a Ministerial Advisory Council on Francophone Economic Recovery post COVID-19 to gather insights from francophone businesses and community organizations into the impacts of the pandemic on their operations and to identify innovative approaches and ideas to support their return to full capacity. The information and key recommendations of the Council will be shared with the Ontario Jobs and Recovery Committee.

Ministry Programs

The Ministry of Francophone Affairs oversees the application of the French Language Services Act, works with ministries and agencies to ensure that the needs and interests of the Franco-Ontarian community are taken into account in public policies and programs, and facilitates the participation of the Franco-Ontarian community in government-related initiatives.

The Ministry’s key roles are:

• Partnering on cross-ministry initiatives to ensure the integration of the French Language Services Act in these initiatives.
• Monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the French Language Services Act by reporting on ministries’ achievements and corporate performance measures on an annual basis.
• Making recommendations regarding the designation of new areas and agencies under the French Language Services Act and coordinating the implementation of services in newly designated areas.
• Coordinating the transfer of federal funding to other ministries and agencies for projects and initiatives funded under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on French Language Services.
• Overseeing Ontario’s participation in national and international governing bodies including the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie and the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
• Administering the Francophone Community Grants Program to provide the community with funding to support initiatives that raise the profile of Ontario’s Francophonie, as well as to support economic development for Francophone owned businesses and businesses serving Francophone markets.

2020-21 Strategic Plan

The Ministry of Francophone Affairs supports the government’s plan to harness Ontario’s tremendous potential to create a more competitive business environment as well as the government’s commitment to build a province where everyone can have the opportunity to share in economic prosperity, irrespective of their background or the region they live in. The government recognizes the contribution of the Francophone community to the province’s social, cultural and economic development. As a result, the government will continue to help Francophone communities across Ontario to promote their culture, grow their businesses and encourage greater community engagement.

In 2020-21, the Ministry will focus on the following key activities:

• Continue to support francophone not-for-profit community organizations to enhance French-language services and programs and foster the promotion of the French language and culture
• Support Francophone-owned businesses and businesses serving French-language markets in collaboration with partner ministries and informed by insights and feedback provided by the Ministerial Advisory Council on Francophone Economic Recovery.
• Complete the pilot project with partner ministries, entities and agencies to streamline the designation process under the French Language Services Act.
• Continue to explore options on modernizing the French Language Services Act in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Continue to work with the Government of Canada and the Ministry of Colleges and Universities on the implementation of the Université de l’Ontario français to address the post-secondary needs of Francophones in the province and respond to francophone bilingual labour force shortages.
• Expected outcomes include:
  • Government services are readily available in French in designated areas across the province.
  • Increased capacity in French-language services in designated areas where gaps have been identified in front-line services.
  • Francophone-owned and operated businesses and business that serve French-speaking markets have access to targeted support to help them grow their business and contribute to the prosperity of their communities.
  • Government policy, programs and initiatives that affect Franco-Ontarians are developed with consideration given to their interests and needs.

Table 1: Ministry Planned Expenditures 2020-21 ($M)

Detailed Financial Information

Table 2: Combined Operating and Capital Summary by Vote

Operating and Capital Summary by Vote

* Estimates, Interim Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure. Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented.

Historic Trend Table

*Estimates and Actuals for prior fiscal years are re-stated to reflect any changes in ministry organization and/or program structure

Agencies, Boards and Commissions (ABCs)

Provincial Advisory Committee on Francophone Affairs

Provides advice to the Minister of Francophone Affairs on the development of strategies, priorities and programs which affect Ontario’s Francophone community, and on the planning and delivery of French language services across the Government of Ontario.

Legislation

Legislation administered by the Ministry:

French Language Services Act, 1990

The French Language Services Act protects the rights of the Franco-Ontarians to have access to French language services provided by or on behalf of the provincial government, notably in designated areas of the province.

Franco-Ontarian Day Act, 2010

The Franco-Ontarian Day Act proclaims September 25 of each calendar year as Franco-Ontarian Day. The Act officially recognizes the contributions of the Francophone community in Ontario to the social, economic and political life of the Province and the community’s importance in Ontario.

Ministry Organization Chart

• Minister of Francophone Affairs – Caroline Mulroney
  • Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Francophone Affairs - Gila Martow
• Deputy Minister - Marie-Lison Fougère
  • Executive Assistant to the Deputy Minister - Laura Jamer (A)
  • Director, Human Resources 1* - Jennifer Stewart
  • Director,Corporate Finance 1 - Nadia Eid
  • Director, Regional Services and Corporate Support 1 - Marie Campbell
  • Director, Strategic Policy Development and Planning 1 - Kristina Lauesen
• Assistant Deputy Minister / Chief Administrative Officer - Jean-Claude Camus
  • Director, Strategic Communications - Charles Jean Sucsan
  • Director, Policy, Research & Services - Anne-Sophie Leduc (A)

1. Administratively reports to ADM/CAO, Regional and Corporate Services Division, Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries. Provide services to the Ministry  of Francophone Affairs and ADM/CAO of Ministry of Francophone Affairs.
2. 1* Also reports to ADM, HR Service Delivery, Ministry of Government and Consumer Services.
3. (A) Denotes "Acting"

Appendix: 2019-20 annual report

The following outlines the Ministry of Francophone Affairs’ major accomplishments in delivering on key priorities:

Key Strategy 1: Strengthening French Language services

• The following designations were approved in 2019-20:
  • University of Sudbury (New partial designation)
  • Canadian Mental Health Association, Ottawa Branch (New full designation)
• Promoted the use of the Francophone Lens tool to ensure that French Language Services are considered by ministries and government agencies from the early stages of policy and program development.
• Coordinated the funding of projects under the Canada-Ontario Agreement on French Language Services.
• Oversaw the application of the French Language Services Act and worked with ministries to ensure a coherent and coordinated approach to the planning and delivery of quality French language services on an "active offer" basis.
• Undertook the streamlining of the designation process under the French Language Services Act through two pilot-projects.
• Maintained the statistical profiles on the Province’s Franco-Ontarian population using the Inclusive Definition of Francophone.
• Supported the work of the Minister’s Provincial Advisory Committee on Francophone Affairs.

Key Strategy 2: Contributing to a stronger Franco-Ontarian community

• Working closely with the Ministry of Colleges and Universities, secured an agreement in principle and subsequently a multi-year funding agreement with the federal government to support the start-up and implementation of the Université de l'Ontario français so that French-speaking students have access to post-secondary education that is aligned with labour market needs.
• Organized Minister’s Economic Roundtables with the business sector to examine the challenges facing Ontario's Francophone entrepreneurs in terms of business growth, job creation and workforce training. The key learnings resulting from this initiative will help provide a Francophone lens to the government economic development actions.
• Launched a redesigned version of the Francophone Community Grants Program, which now includes an economic development and job creation stream, in order to help Francophone entrepreneurs and businesses improve front-line services and better serve French-speaking clients and partners. The program will also help train and retain skilled bilingual workers, as well as continue to invest in local cultural and community initiatives. In 2019-20, 48 organizations received a total of $1 million in funding.
• Ensured and coordinated the participation of the Minister and the Ministry in public events and meetings with Francophone stakeholders to express support for key initiatives aimed at strengthening the vitality of Ontario's Francophone community.
• Worked with the Ministry of Health to monitor the progress and the implementation of:
  • The Connecting Care Act which contains provisions specially with respect to the French Language Services Act;
  • The OZI data collection project that was implemented in 2019-20 to collect French language health services data to support improved planning for French language health services for the francophone population.
• Worked collaboratively with the Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services and the Ministry of Economic Development, Job Creation and Trade to increase francophone immigration in Ontario.
• Supported the Ministry of the Attorney General initiative to enhance access to justice in French with the pilot project in Sudbury.

Key Strategy 3: Promoting Ontario’s Visibility in Francophone Affairs

• Continued to strengthen Ontario leadership role in Francophone affairs at the Federal-Provincial-Territorial level through active participation in activities leading up and following the Ministerial Conference on the Canadian Francophonie that was hosted by the Government of Canada and Nunavut in June 2019.
• Continued to support Ontario’s strong partnership with Québec to coordinate and implement the Ontario-Québec Cooperation and Exchange Agreement on the Canadian Francophonie.
• Supported Ontario’s role as an Observer member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.

Table 3: Ministry Interim Actual Expenditures 2019-20

* Interim actuals reflect the numbers presented in the March 2020 Economic Fiscal Update.

** Ontario Public Service Full-Time Equivalent positions. Excludes seasonal, students and leaves of absence.